what I've been up to recently

it's been busy times as usual but beautiful ones as the pictures show, so I let them speak for themselves...

the world we live in

I am having quite a day today and so I just went to the shop quickly as we ran out of some important things I had to stock up. totally absent minded I got the things I needed, paid and hardly realized the boy behind me at the cash desk.
I just realized that he was faster out of the shop than me as it took me a while to get my keys ready and bags balanced and he only had a can of soda...now that's where the story really starts...
I went to one of the supermarkets that actually just opened a little while ago and very fancy has an escalator! for us nothing special but all of a sudden the boy, maybe 8 years old hesitated and made me stop as he was thinking for a second about taking the stairs or the escalator. he chose the escalator and I went for the stairs. and as I started walking up I realized that the boy didn't get on the escalator. he was just standing in front of it and watching it not sure when to set foot on it. his expression told me that he was not sure about that "thing" at all and really scared he might not manage to get on. he might have seen this thing for the first time in his life...

so I started thinking...my 3year old can manage an escalator without troubles and as one of her everyday things, my 6year old works on a computer as if she was born with it...

I didn't feel sorry for the boy, not happy either...definitely a poor kid playing in and with trash almost all day BUT he is still playing and is creative with whatever "falls" into his hands. he just does not happen to be born in the best environment for that kind of play...
I remember when I was a child I was lucky to grow up in the countryside and at the age of 10 I still loved to play outside in the woods, collecting all kinds of stuff and making funny things out of it or just run around there with my friends and well, every day was too short for whatever dreamworld we built up and played in the afternoon.
nowadays I hear friends telling me that their 10year olds just hang out in front of the computer all afternoon and even if they have friends over that's all they do.
and I think it's up to us parents to still provide them with good books to encourage their fantasy and give them space (which I admit is not easy to find in Cairo) to explore and enter their fantasyland with their friends, but not the made-up one from one of their computer games...

tell me why

just found this song through somebody who shared time with us in Benghazi...

yesterday I spoke to a special friend of mine from our time in Benghazi to see how she and her kids are, her husband still in Benghazi...

I've just been to church with Mia and the the list of "things" we send out our prayers today just didn't seem to end. and I know that it might always be as long as today but this time more than half of this things my life is connected with in some way.

I do dedicate my yoga practice to special events and people sometimes and I find that it gives me a lot of strength and so I can only suggest this to everyone...give your day or a meal you cook or a walk you do or whatever activity you like away to someone special, someone you love, someone you lost, the challenge that's ahead or the place in trouble or joy your thoughts go to...

may you all enjoy a day of peace and love!

spring already...

this year seems to be packed with whatever life can bring...after still being in the middle of revolution times in the country we live in and some around I find myself with almost only two month of school left.
after the death of the son of friends of ours we're now confronted with the death of one of Mias teachers... it was the first time for us to confront Mia with the death of somebody she really knew well and I know she really loved to have as a teacher. there is only a few of them she'd come home and tell me about and he was one of them...
when we told her she went mad and was angry and it was obvious she wanted to fight against the truth. luckily her anger didn't last too long and we had a talk about life and death the same evening curious to find out about after death but happy to live and hoping we'll experience it late in our lives...with the natural wish that Mum and Dad will never ever die...

besides this tragedies we're enjoying spring...meaning nice weather and fresh fruit and vegetables. I found out that cooking really calms me and makes me feel grounded. and I learned that this might be true for a lot of people...as it is something we normally do every day it does ground us in situations we feel uncomfortable. so a friend of mine who stayed here in Cairo through the whole "revolution" told me that she felt great whenever she was in her kitchen cooking during those days.
so no surprise I find myself cooking the most delicious meals during crazy times and of course it's also eating those yummy things that makes us feel comfortable and safe...